Home Office

Travel: Northern Ireland

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish details ofthe mitigations for (1) non-British and Irish residents of the Common Travel Area, and (2) tourists, travelling from air and sea ports in the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: To strengthen the security of the UK border, the Government is introducing an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme.Individuals arriving in the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland, must enter in line with the UK’s immigration framework, including the requirement to obtain an ETA when it is introduced. The UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the land border.The Government is committed to working with a wide range of stakeholders, including the tourism sector, to ensure the ETA scheme is implemented smoothly.

Asylum: Applications

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average processing time for a decision on the admissibility of an asylum application.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals’ asylum applications were declared inadmissible in 2022; and what percentage of such individuals were returned to a safe or third country.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals, whose applications were declared inadmissible for asylum but who were unable to be returned to a third country, have been added to the list of asylum applications.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Statistics on inadmissibility can be found in tables Asy_09a and Asy_09b of the Asylum and Resettlement Summary Tables which are published on gov.uk quarterly.The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which provide an average length of time to reach an inadmissibility decision. Those figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.Asylum and Resettlement Summary Tables (xlsx, 1215.4KB)

Department for Transport

Railway Stations: Access

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of accessibility at train stations, such as Castle Cary station in Somerset, for passengers who are elderly, infirm or disabled.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We are carrying out accessibility audits at all stations in Great Britain. Around 95% of these are complete and the data will be made publicly available once the project is complete.We are also assessing over 300 nominations for Access for All funding for the period 2024-29, including a nomination for Castle Cary, should further funding be made available.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Private Rented Housing: Energy Performance Certificates

Lord Marlesford: To ask His Majesty's Government how many privately rented dwellings hold a current Energy Performance Certificate; and what proportion of those are certified in each of the bands A to H.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: All privately rented dwellings are required to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate when they are placed on the market. The  English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report provides an estimate of the proportion of privately rented dwellings in each rating band.The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities publishes data tables on all Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates lodged on the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers since 2008.Energy Performance Certificates (pdf, 211.9KB)Live data tables (pdf, 218.9KB)English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector (pdf, 136.4KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Electronic Cigarettes: Environment Protection and Health Hazards

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the (1) environmental, and (2) health, impact of disposable vapes; and what plans they have, if any, to ban the sale of such products.

Lord Markham: The Nicotine vaping in England: an evidence update including health risks and perceptions, 2022 report published in September 2022 found that in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, but that vaping is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked. A copy of the report is attached.Whilst there are no immediate plans to introduce a ban on disposable vapes, the Government is concerned by the increasing use of disposable vaping products, particularly amongst children, and their impact on the environment when they become waste. We are exploring a range of measures to address these issues.Nicotine vaping in England report (pdf, 11357.0KB)

Social Services: Protective Clothing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reduce financial support for PPE costs in the social care sector.

Lord Markham: The Government is continuing to provide the adult social care sector with free personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 needs until March 2024 or until each category of items runs out, whichever is earlier. As the free PPE offer ends, care providers will return to being fully responsible for their PPE costs as they were before the pandemic and have continued to be for non-COVID-19 PPE.

Social Services: Finance

Baroness Andrews: To ask His Majesty's Government whether integrated care boards are able to spend a proportion of the £250 million, allocated by the Chancellor to accelerate hospital discharge, on social care projects (1) to increase capacity in the community, and (2) to fund extra care beds.

Lord Markham: The £200 million announced on 9 January 2023 is specifically for funding short-term National Health Service step-down care packages and is being used to purchase a maximum of four weeks bedded care per patient. Integrated care boards, working closely with local authorities, are using this to purchase places in care homes and other settings, such as hospices, as well as to help fund wrap-around primary and community health services to support patients’ recovery. The £50 million capital, also announced on 9 January 2023, is targeted at projects that can make an immediate impact on reducing the winter crisis. This includes creating greater capacity in discharge lounges to improve patient discharge and hospital flow, as well as other options such as ambulance hubs.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current charge for a prescription; and what was (1) the total revenue from prescription charges in the last financial year, and (2) the cost of collecting those charges.

Lord Markham: The National Health Service prescription charge for each medicine or appliance dispensed is £9.35. In 2021/22, the total revenue from prescription charges was £651,964,000. Information on the cost of collecting those charges is not collected centrally.

Electronic Cigarettes: Imports

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ban the importation into the UK of vapes with over 800 puffs.

Lord Markham: For a producer wishing to supply nicotine containing vapes in the United Kingdom market they need to comply with the requirements set out in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 which includes notifying the products to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Products that do not comply with the regulations may be subject to enforcement actions.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toimprove the provision of mental health services for children and young people.

Lord Markham: The NHS Long Term Plan commits to increasing investment into mental health services by at least an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. This will allow an extra two million people by 2023/24, including 345,000 more children and young people, to access National Health Service funded mental health support. We also provided an additional £79 million in response to the pandemic to expand children’s mental health services in the 2021/22 financial year. This allowed around 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services, 2,000 more to access eating disorder services and a faster increase in the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. There are currently 287 mental health support teams, covering 26% of pupils, in place in around 4,700 schools and colleges across the country, offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression and other common mental health issue. Over 500 support teams are planned to be up and running by 2024. NHS England has also consulted on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards as part of its clinically-led review of NHS access standards. One of these is that children, young people and their families/carers presenting to community-based mental health services, should start to receive care within four weeks from referral. We are now working with NHS England on the next steps. As a first step to introduce the five new waiting time standards, NHS England has recently shared and promoted guidance with its local system partners to consistently report waiting times to support the development of a baseline position.

Medical Equipment: Energy

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 9 December 2022 (HL3870), when patients on home dialysis will receive information on funding to address the increased energy cost of powering such equipment.

Lord Markham: NHS England’s Haemodialysis service specification makes provision for financial support to offset energy costs incurred by recipients of at-home dialysis. NHS England has uplifted tariff prices by 4.1% this year to account for inflationary costs and support National Health Service trusts in uplifting their local reimbursement tariffs for patients. In addition to the above, the Government’s cost of living support package delivers £15 billion worth of support measures to assist the most vulnerable with rising energy costs. The Government remains committed to supporting vulnerable households and is closely monitoring the situation.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Lord Porter of Spalding: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to strengthen regulatory powers in respect of the sale of vaping products to children.

Lord Markham: The Government is clear that vaping should only be used to help people quit smoking and vapes should not be used by people under the age of 18 or non-smokers. We have regulations in place to discourage underage vaping. The law protects children through restricting sales of vapes to people over the age of 18 only, limiting nicotine content, refill bottle and tank sizes, labelling requirements and through advertising restrictions. The Department continues to work with enforcement agencies to ensure these regulations are enforced in England. There are no current plans to strengthen the regulatory powers in respect of the sale of these products to children, but we will keep this under review.

Cereals

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to introduce an agreeddefinition of wholegrain, and (2) to set a recommended daily amount for its consumption.

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to merits of introducing a public and private sector partnership aiming to increase the consumption of wholegrain foods.

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address low wholegrain intakes inEngland.

Lord Markham: Currently in the United Kingdom, there is no agreed definition for wholegrain or wholegrain foods. Therefore, wholegrain consumption cannot be monitored in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. At its horizon scan meeting in June 2022 the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) agreed that it would be useful to consider a definition for wholegrain and added it to its future work programme due to start Summer 2023. SACN’s Carbohydrates and Health report published in 2015 provides strong evidence on dietary fibre and positive health outcomes, but for wholegrains and health outcomes the evidence was mixed and SACN has questioned whether any beneficial effect from wholegrain may be due to the fibre content. Fibre is found in a range of foods and is not exclusive to wholegrain foods. Based on SACN’s findings, Government recommends that adults consume 30 grams of dietary fibre each day and that this should be achieved through a variety of food sources. Government dietary advice, as depicted by the UK’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide, is that we should choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions of starchy carbohydrates wherever possible. This advice aims to increase population intakes of fibre. This is because in the UK, there is no quantitative recommendation for dietary wholegrain consumption, whereas there is a specific Government recommendation for dietary fibre consumption. The Government continues to promote the Eatwell Guide principles through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and our social marketing campaigns, Better Health and Healthier Families. There are no current plans to introduce a public and private sector partnership aimed at increasing the consumption of wholegrain foods. Authorised nutrition and health claims related to fibre can be used by food business operators on food products, pursuant to retained Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, as amended by the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. All authorised and rejected nutrition and health claims are included in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register (GB NHC Register), other than those health claims authorised on the basis of proprietary data which will be recorded in a separate Annex to the GB NHC Register. The GB NHC Register, and the separate Annex, are available in an online only format.

Surgery: Robotics

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the utility and safety of robotic techniques in surgical operations for patients in the UK.

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theyhave made any forecast of theexpected use offurtherrobotic surgery in the NHS in the next five years; and whether this would be an increase or decrease from the current levels of use.

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the use of robotic surgery in the UK compared to the use in (1) other European countries, and (2) the USA.

Lord Markham: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have developed interventional procedures guidance on robot assisted kidney transplant and totally endoscopic robotically assisted coronary artery bypass grafting that are based on thorough assessment of safety and efficacy for routine use in clinical practice. NHS England is responsible for setting evidence-based national service standards, including service specifications and clinical commissioning policies, and for ensuring the implementation of NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance within local systems. Robotic assisted surgery has been commissioned in line with national policies for prostate cancer and early-stage kidney cancers that are unsuitable for conventional laparoscopic surgery. In view of the rapidly evolving nature of robotic assisted surgery, no detailed forecast of the expected future use has been developed at this time, but it is anticipated that the use of robotic techniques in surgical operations will increase over the coming years. No specific assessment has been made of the use of robotic surgery in the United Kingdom compared to Europe or the United States of America at this time.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were prosecuted for prescription fraud in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Lord Markham: No prosecutions were undertaken for prescription charge fraud in 2021/22.

Public Health

Baroness Harris of Richmond: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s public health standards as a result of the measures proposed in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022.

Lord Markham: Through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, the Government is currently reviewing which retained European Union law should be repealed, reformed or preserved. the Government continues to work with a range of stakeholders to ensure that any such reforms maintain and improve current standards in patient safety and public health.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthe Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 and its devolved equivalents constitute EU-derived subordinate legislation in the context of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and if so, what plans they have to ensure that those provisions which go further than EU requirements, such as the banning of sow stalls, are preserved.

Lord Benyon: Defra is in the process of analysing and assessing its retained EU law stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, and what should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill, including in relation to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. Having said this, there are no plans to remove the ban on sow stalls.

Pet Travel Scheme: Dogs

Baroness Sanderson of Welton: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthey intend to strengthen the provisions of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to end the illegal smuggling of dogs into Great Britain for sale through the exploitation of the Pet Travel Scheme.

Lord Benyon: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill includes measures to deliver our manifesto commitment to tackle puppy smuggling. The Bill reduces the number of pet dogs, cats and ferrets that can be moved under the pet travel rules. The Bill also includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of cats, dogs and ferrets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on how these powers could be used including proposals to ban the import of puppies under the age of six months. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.

Chemicals: Seas and Oceans

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that their forthcoming chemicals strategy takes steps to protect the oceans; and whether that strategy will include a ban on the use of non-essential per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs).

Lord Benyon: The Chemicals Strategy will frame the work we are doing across chemicals and put us on a path for improved chemicals management. It will address our approach to managing Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), along with other emerging chemicals of concern. Work is underway across government to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches. In the UK REACH Work Programme for 2021-22, Defra asked the EA and HSE to examine the risks posed by PFAS and develop a 'Regulatory Management Options Analysis' (RMOA). The RMOA will be published in Spring 2023 and will make recommendations for risk management measures. Defra and the Devolved Administrations will carefully consider these recommendations as we take forward our broader approach to PFAS management. We are already committed to leading efforts to protect the marine environment and counter marine pollution. The UK Marine Strategy Programme of Measures sets out a comprehensive list of actions that HM Government is taking to reduce pollution in the marine environment and move us towards Good Environmental Status in our seas.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proposed timescale for the implementation of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023, including the operation of red and green lane checks on goods entering Northern Ireland.

Lord Benyon: My officials have commenced work to assess how Defra will exercise the powers contained in the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023. I will provide an update to the House in due course.

Waste: Codes of Practice

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of local authority compliance with the 2019 Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse in relation to the issuing of penalties as an intentional policy for generating revenue or profit.

Lord Benyon: No such assessment has been made. Last year, a Defra minister wrote to councils reiterating that in no circumstances should enforcement activity be considered a means to raise revenue. That letter has been published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-enforcement-powers-letter-to-councils. A copy is attached to this answer.Letter on litter enforcement (pdf, 110.4KB)

Waste: Codes of Practice

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government what powers they have to reissue the 2019 Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse as binding statutory guidance on local councils and outsourced firms; and what plans they have, if any, to use those powers to do soin the current parliament.

Lord Benyon: The Environment Act 2021 will allow us to place our current litter enforcement guidance on a firm statutory footing, giving those to which it applies a clear and explicit duty to have regard to it when exercising their enforcement functions. We have committed to doing so in the Environmental Improvement Plan and will provide further details in due course.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to ensure that the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations, including those that go further than EU requirementscovering the protections for reptiles and amphibians, invertebrate animals and poultry, rabbits or hares killed elsewhere than in a slaughterhouse by their owner for the owner’s private domestic consumption, arepreserved in the context of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Lord Benyon: Defra is committed to maintaining our high standards in areas such as the welfare of animals at the time of killing. The Department is in the process of analysing and assessing its retained EU law stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, and what should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, including in relation to the welfare of animals at the time of killing legislation.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the 'One Health' approach outlined in the report by theUnited Nations Environment Programme'sBracing for Superbugs: Strengthening environmental action in the One Health response to antimicrobial resistance, published on 7 February.

Lord Benyon: The Government is aware of the report and Environment Agency staff contributed to initial United Nations workshops that led to its commission. Now that the report has been published, we will assess the content and conclusions. Defra, the Environment Agency and UKHSA are currently working together to investigate antimicrobial resistance in the environment under the Treasury-funded Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment (PATHSAFE) project. The Environment Agency is developing possible surveillance methods and data systems that could be used in the future to help us better understand and mitigate environmental antimicrobial resistance. In 2019, the UK Government published a 20-year Vision of a world in which antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is effectively contained, controlled and mitigated by 2040. In support of the Vision, the Government also committed to developing a series of five-year national action plans that will each prioritise actions and direct resources based on the latest information about what the biggest risks are, and which interventions are most effective addressing them. The first of these plans, published in 2019, takes a comprehensive One-Health approach across humans, animals, agriculture the environment and food. The vision and national action plan were co-developed across government departments, agencies, the health family, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and with input from a wide range of stakeholders.

Livestock: Antimicrobials

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Farmers' Union about reducing antimicrobial resistance in livestock.

Lord Benyon: The Government is committed to reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals and to strengthening animal health and welfare standards. We are delivering on this through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway; NFU representatives have been part of the co-design team looking at how reducing the prevalence of endemic disease and encouraging more responsible use of antibiotics can contribute to slowing the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Also, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, which coordinates action across Defra under the UK AMR National Action Plan, works closely with the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA). The National Farmers' Union is an active member of RUMA. RUMA chairs the ‘Targets Task Force’ of vets and farmers which has been instrumental in achieving our national progress in reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals: antibiotic use in livestock has fallen by 55% since 2014, accompanied by a reducing trend in antimicrobial resistance.

Grasslands: Environment Protection

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response tothe report by the Office for National StatisticsHabitat extent and condition, natural capital, UK: 2022, published on 3 May 2022; in particular, what steps they are taking in respect of the changes in the number of protected sites on semi-natural grassland (1) in favourable condition from 2020–22, (2) in unfavourable condition from 2020–22, and (3) in recovering condition from 2020–22.

Lord Benyon: Biodiversity policy is devolved. The Office for National Statistics report indicates that most of the England grassland priority habitats both in lowland and upland protected sites were broadly maintained in either favourable or recovering condition between 2018 and May 2022. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions, including lowland neutral grassland and upland calcareous grassland, showing significant change to unfavourable declining condition. In Natural England’s view, this is due to a range of factors including the reluctance of some land managers to renew or take up Agri-Environment Schemes during the period of transition to new schemes. In addition, the halting of site condition reporting during the Covid lockdown may have impact these figures. Natural England is taking several steps to address this, including working with land managers to maximise the take up of existing and new land management schemes including Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier and Higher Tier management options.In the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 the Government has set an interim target that by 2028 all Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) will have an up-to-date condition assessment and that 50% of SSSIs will have actions on-track to bring them into favourable condition. Since 2018, 13 new SSSIs have been designated where grassland and those species dependent on grassland habitats is the main interest feature Natural England’s SSSI pipeline includes 7 more grassland sites for notification.

Environment Protection: Standards

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to theOffice for Environmental Protection'sProgress in improving the natural environment in England: 2021 to 2022, published on 19 January, which concluded onthe 25 Year Improvement Plan that "of 23 environmental targets assessed, none were found where Government’s progress was demonstrably on track", what steps they are taking to improve progress against those targets.

Lord Benyon: On 31st January 2023 we completed our first statutory review of the 25 Year Environment Plan and published the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23). EIP23 sets out a delivery plan for how we will deliver our goals and targets to achieve our long-term ambition to leave the environment in a better state for future generations. To monitor the delivery of EIP23, the Government will report annually on implementation. To do this, we will continue to publish an Annual Progress Report setting out the progress we have made towards the targets and wider commitments, over the previous 12 months.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations, including Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and connected domestic secondary legislation including the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 and its devolved equivalents, constitute EU-derived subordinate legislation in the context of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Lord Benyon: Retained Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing is retained direct EU legislation. The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 is EU-derived subordinate legislation.  Animal welfare at the time of killing is a devolved matter, and the Department is continuing to engage closely with devolved administrations on the progress of the Bill and the corresponding reviews into Retained EU law.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of goods entering Northern Ireland that will, following implementation of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023, be subject to (1) red lane checks, and (2) green lane checks.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whether goods entering Northern Ireland that are component parts for products in Northern Ireland will, following implementation of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023, be subject to green lane or red lane checks.

Lord Benyon: The percentage of goods entering Northern Ireland that will be subject to red or green lane checks is not determined by this legislation. Instead this legislation allows for the Government to enhance and expand facilities which will carry out such official controls.